Your Mind is Your Enemy
by DaughteroftheRedKing
Summary: AU. The fight against Van has finally ended, and Tear is expecting school life to go back to normal...though, who can say if the threat is fully vanquished? (Sequel to The Fight for Power)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Welcome back, my lovely little readers! The sequel for The Fight for Power is here! It's a direct continuation, so it basically takes place immediately after the last chapter of the prequel.**

**That being said, to any new people reading this, hello! I'm afraid if you read this without reading the prequel, you'll get pretty confused, so please go read that first if you want to read this as well! :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of the Abyss. It is the property of Namco Bandai**

* * *

Life in the school was nowhere near normal, but at least it wasn't hostile. Those in Daath had been given a choice; move to a different dorm and be forgiven eventually, or stay with Daath and go to jail. Surprisingly, several students chose to stay with Daath, and they were carted off to jail with Legretta, Largo, and a few other teachers who had been on Van's side.

Ion, Sync, Jozette and Arietta were among those who chose to go to a different dorm. While the two green-haired twins and Arietta chose to go to Kimlasca, Jozette went to Malkuth with Aslan. Guy also seemed happy that she chose to go with Malkuth, as it meant that he could spend more time with his cousin.

A few people had died in the fight, mainly students, and there was a few days of mourning as they were buried and a service held. Yulia led the service, singing the Grand Fonic Hymn for them. Tear would have attended and joined in, but she wanted to remain near Luke, Lorelei and Asch in case they woke up.

It had already been a week though, and Tear was growing worried. Although Luke had briefly woken, he'd been tired and barely thinking straight. Yulia said it was purely exhaustion; none of the boys had ever exerted as much power as they did against Van, and it had just depleted their natural energy. Their bodies were simply recovering from the massive energy drain, and when they felt it was enough, they would wake properly.

Visitors came and went. A few students came to give get-well cards to the boys, but the only ones who really hung around were Natalia and Guy. Anybody who visited could expect to see Tear sitting beside Luke's bed, either playing around with his hair, reading or staring off into space. Occasionally she would sing a verse from the Fonic Hymns she had learnt, but it wasn't very often.

She was busying herself one morning, having already plaited Luke's hair and so starting on Asch's. As she held the soft strands, she noted that Asch's hair was actually a shade darker, just a slight shade, but enough.

Combing it out and seperating it into three, she began to twist the locks, forming a loose plait. She worked her way down, continually brushing it out and grooming it. She hummed to herself as she worked, finally grabbing a bobble and tying the end. She inspected her handiwork, pleased with the result.

"Are you done yet?" a grumpy voice laced with sleepiness asked, and she jumped. Asch opened his eyes, looking up at her with fuzzy eyes before sitting up, rubbing away the sleep and yawning widely.

"Asch! I didn't realise you were awake. I'm sorry if I woke you," she said, turning red. First Luke, now Asch...good thing she didn't start on Lorelei like she had been planning.

"Nah, I was waking up anyway."

Tear frowned, eyes worried. "Are you sure? You pretty much exhausted yourselves..."

"I'm sure. Why don't you dote on Luke, he's getting up too," Asch said with a wave of his hand. Tear turned in surprise, seeing Luke sitting while holding his head. He opened his eyes, meeting her gaze and smiling.

"Hey Tear," he said happily.

Tear felt tears coming to her eyes, but forced them away. She smiled back.

"It's good to see you feeling better. Everyone was starting to get worried," she said.

"Well, they don't need to worry anymore," a voice said behind her and she jumped, biting back a shriek and turning. Lorelei laughed at her reaction, running a hand through his fringe.

"Are you feeling alright, Lor...sir?" she asked, quickly correcting herself as she remembered they were in public.

"It's fine Tear. And yes, I'm feeling much better," Lorelei replied.

Tear nodded, relaxing. Well, if they were sure they were fine...

"How long have we been out?" Asch asked, looking around for a calender.

"A week and a half."

"So that's why I feel hungry!" Luke laughed, leaping off the bed.

"Careful! I don't want you collapsing again," Tear scolded.

"Sorry, sorry," Luke apologised with a grin. Tear huffed, unable to stay mad at him.

"Do you want to go to the cafeteria?" she asked them.

"No, let's head back to our rooms. I don't want to cause a scene," Lorelei said with a sigh, the other two boys nodding.

Tear stood up, heading out of the Infirmary with the boys trailing behind her. Luke and Asch were chatting together quietly, though about what she didn't know.

"How serious were our wounds?" Lorelei asked quietly, coming up beside her.

"Very. Even Mum was afraid none of you would make it," Tear replied.

"And yet you still had faith," Lorelei noted.

Tear nodded, but didn't say anything more.

Lorelei saw her hesitation, and sighed. "It's alright, Tear. I heard her, I knew it was her."

Tear looked up in surprise, and he smiled. Finally she nodded. "Suzanne told me that you were all really stubborn, that you would pull through because it was just who you were. I believed her, so I never lost hope." She gave a rueful smile. "That didn't stop me from worrying, though."

"There's nothing wrong with worrying. But having faith in the person you are worrying about sometimes does more good than simply waiting for them to recover would, especially if you are near them constantly. I'll assume you probably didn't leave for very long?"

Tear laughed. "And I was hoping the smell wouldn't linger," she joked.

Lorelei chuckled. "That's not what I meant," he said, ruffling her hair.

Tear turned a little more serious, her smile fading. "Yeah. Luke woke up, really briefly, and asked me not to leave. So I didn't."

Lorelei saw that she was a little uncertain, and placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him with her bright blue eyes, and he smiled.

"Well, thank you, Tear," he murmured.

Tear blinked in surprise, then smiled softly, nodding.

"Hey, look Luke. Dad's flirting with your girlfriend," Asch drawled, ducking the swing from Luke and jumping over Lorelei's kick. Straightening with a smirk, he suddenly felt his hair being pulled and let out a pained yell.

"Ow ow ow!" he yelled as Tear dragged him down the hallway by his hair.

"He really should have seen that one coming," Luke sighed, Lorelei nodding in agreement as he bit the inside of his cheek.

They reached their rooms, heading for the kitchen. Luke and Lorelei obediantly sat at the table when Tear offered to cook, but Asch was adamant that he do it. Eventually he agreed to let Tear do little jobs around the kitchen while he cooked.

Eventually the meal was set on the table, and Luke grinned.

"Man, I've missed this so much!" he said happily, picking up his knife and fork.

"I second that," Lorelei muttered before digging in, Luke following shortly afterwards. Tear, sitting between them, watched in surprise, a little taken aback by their frenzied eating. Asch, on the opposite side between them, calmly ate his own.

Finally he noticed that Tear wasn't eating and raised an eyebrow.

"What, don't like the taste?" he asked.

"Oh, um, sorry!" Tear said, flustered, and picked up a piece of the food. She hesitantly bit into it, chewed, then swallowed. For a moment she was silent and Asch looked at her in curiousity.

"Tear? You alright there?" he asked.

"Asch..." she mumbled.

"Mmm?"

"This is really tasty!"

He sweat-dropped as she quickly scarfed down the rest of the food with a scary precision, calmly laying her knife and fork next to each other on the plate.

"That was delicious. Thank you very much," she said politely

"Tch, you're all weirdos. What's so special about my cooking anyway?" Asch muttered.

"Seconds!" Luke and Lorelei yelled, and he sighed.

"Alright alright, give me a minute," he muttered, standing up and heading back into the kitchen.

* * *

**A/N: So, yes. Asch is apparently the best cooker in the entire world. I dunno, I always saw Asch being more like the Mum and Luke like the Dad in this fic...though, I suppose it's opposite in the game :3**

**Review?**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: We're finally getting a bit more into it now...and progression on the love front! FINALLY!**

**Review Reply: _Mryhh: _Hey! Thanks for the great ideas! I'm afraid that I never post a story unless it's completely finished, so they won't be added, but I'm planning on doing some little one-shots about this as well, so I might use them in that! Thank you for reading!**

**I just got my GCSE results. 5 Bs, 3 Cs and a D in French...I'm so happy! :D**

* * *

Tear reached the dorm and headed for her room. She pushed open the door, crossing over to her wardrobe and pulling out some fresh clothes. She went into the bathroom, closing the door behind her and heading over to the shower.

Unchanging and stepping into it, she gave a sigh of relief as the warm water trickled down her back. The showers at the Infirmary weren't too bad, but her own was better.

As she had started washing her hair, she heard the door to the dorm open. The door to the shower opened, and a head peeked round the door.

"Tear?" called Natalia.

"Yeah?" Tear called back.

"Nothing. I was just wondering if it was you. You left the Infirmary?"

"Yeah, they woke up. I had lunch at theirs and then came back for a shower. I'll be going back later, so if you want to come too, that's fine."

"That would be great. Thanks!" Natalia said happily.

Tear listened as the door closed then went back to washing her hair.

* * *

It had been about a week. When the boys were more rested and feeling back to their old strength, Lorelei announced that they were all awake and well; this caused a lot of celebration within the students, as pretty much everyone had been convinced they _wouldn't _be fine.

Eventually, though, everything went back to normal. Students settled back into their normal school lives, and things calmed down again.

It was pretty dark, and Natalia was getting dressed. She had pretty much been glued to Asch the past few weeks, and the only time they were seperated was when they went back to their respective rooms.

Tear sat on her bed, skimming through some material for her lessons tomorrow. She was little behind on her studies and was determined to get back to where she was supposed to be at.

A faint buzzing beside her caught her attention and she blinked before turning, realising it was her phone. She smiled, reaching out and picking it up.

_'Hey. You wanna take a walk? - Luke'_

Tear blinked at the sudden request, then shrugged. _'Sure. Let me just get changed. - Tear'_

_'Okay. Meet me by the geyser. - Luke'_

Tear slipped out of her nightclothes, quickly changing into jeans and shirt, slipping on a jacket then doing up her shoes. Natalia looked at her in surprise.

"Where are you going? It's pretty late," she pointed out.

"Luke said he wanted to walk," Tear replied with a shrug.

Natalia blinked, then smirked. "Oh hoh. You two are going on a romantic midnight stroll, hmm?" she said.

Tear rolled her eyes. "You're overthinking things, Natalia. It's probably nothing," she replied before waving as she headed out.

* * *

Luke looked up as Tear came up to him, standing up and grinning. "Hey," he greeted, giving an awkward wave.

"Hey yourself. Any particular reason for this sudden walk?" asked Tear as they headed off.

"Um...no, not really, I guess...I just, uh..."

Tear glanced at him, a bit concerned. "Are you okay, Luke? You seem a bit distracted..."

Luke coughed into his fist, shaking his head. "No, no, I'm fine," he replied unconvincingly.

Tear raised an eyebrow. "If you're not feeling well or something, you should head back."

"I'm fine, honest."

Tear shrugged, the two falling into silence as they continue to walk along the path. The moon dappled ground made Tear smile, imagining that they were little pictures between the trees.

She finally heard Luke give a sigh and looked up. "I don't get how Asch managed this..." she heard him mutter.

"Luke, seriously, what's up?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips and frowning. He was acting so awkward and out of it...

Luke glanced at her, then sighed. He turned to face her, taking a deep breath then straightening and looking her in the eyes. She blinked at the sudden determination, her frown fading. "Tear...I want to ask you something," Luke said quietly.

"Um...okay.." she replied hesitantly.

"This...this is something I've wanted to ask you for a while, okay?"

Tear blinked at the odd phrasing, then a niggling idea rose and she reddened. "O-Okay..."

"Tear...would you...go out with me?"

Tear thought her heart stopped. She had an idea maybe that's what he was asking, but still...she'd had a crush on him, but to know that he felt the same way too...

Luke took her silence the wrong way, and quickly tried to backtrack. "I'm sorry if it's so sudden! I mean, if you don't wanna then that's fine, I just thought I'd tell you, and so..."

Luke was cut off as suddenly Tear's lips were pressed against his. He blinked then returned the gesture, the two standing in the darkness under the trees.

* * *

Tear went back to her room, stumbling in in a half daze. She closed the door quietly then leant against it, mind whirling.

Suddenly the lamp was switched on and she winced at the sudden change of lighting.

"So. What happened?" asked Natalia, smirking.

"N-Nothing, really, we just...talked a little..."

"Yeah?"

"And he...he asked me out..."

"Yeah?"

"And...and then we kissed..."

Natalia squealed, leaping across the bed to her.

"You kissed? Already?! Man, that's so cute! I ship you guys, I definitely ship."

"Ship...?" Tear mumbled, confused, while Natalia continued to cackle to herself.

* * *

**A/N: Natalia's gone from the horrible person in the first part to a ridiculous fangirl...*sigh* That wasn't how I thought she'd turn out. Oh well, I'm probably just expressing my adorableness through her XD**

**Review?**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Ahhh! Sorry about the short chapter last time! I didn't realise how short it was...I'll make it up to you guys!**

**Review Reply: _Mryhh: _Oh, well...The Van/Yulia thing shall be revealed later in the story :3**

* * *

Asch headed to the kitchen, aleady dressed and ready for the day. He found Luke sitting at the table chewing cereal with a dazed expression, and smirked.

"So, finally asked her out?" he asked as he poured himself some cereal.

Luke nearly choked on his cereal. "Wha...how did you know?" he asked, turning to his twin.

Asch raised an eyebrow, and Luke went red as he realised the obvious.

"Oh...right."

"Actually, I knew because you look ridiculously happy at the moment," Asch replied, sitting across from him and starting to eat.

"Do I?" mused Luke, patting his face.

"You're not going to see your face by touching it, idiot," Asch snorted.

"Oh shut up," Luke replied, aggressively munching on his cereal.

The two boys looked up as Lorelei entered the room, his sword strapped to his side and a small pack on his back.

"Dad? Where are you going?" asked Asch, confused.

"Around. Some reports of Van having outside forces," Lorelei replied, putting a few bits of food into the bag.

"Huh? Well, um, why don't we go with you?" suggested Luke.

"No. You two stay here. You...need to watch the school for me."

Asch frowned. "Dad, are you okay?" he asked, standing and walking over to him.

"I'm fine," Lorelei snapped, making Asch pause. Luke blinked, also rising.

"Um...Dad, I think I'd feel better if you stayed here...What if something happened to you?" he pointed out, stepping forward.

"Grow up, you spoilt brats," Lorelei growled before turning and heading from the room, leaving the two boys staring at each other.

"Did he...did he just called us spoiled brats?" Asch asked disbelievingly.

* * *

"Hey Luke, Asch!" Natalia greeted cheerfully as the two red-heads walked over. Tear blushed, glancing at Luke. He caught her eye and the two of them went red, looking away before glancing back again.

"Did you have a good morning?" Luke asked as they headed in.

"Yeah. How about you?" Tear replied.

Luke hesitated, then smiled. "Same old," he replied.

Tear blinked, then frowned, grabbing his arm and stopping. He stopped a second later, turning to her in surprise.

"No. If we're going to have this sort of relationship, we aren't going to start by hiding things from each other," she said.

Luke gazed at her a moment, then sighed. "Dad left this morning. Said he was looking for outside supporters of Van. And...he called us spoiled brats."

Tear frowned. "Maybe he was in a bad mood?" But it didn't sound like him. He was a naturally kind and gentle person. Mad at other students, maybe she could believe, but his own _sons_...

"I dunno. But he just left without saying goodbye. Yulia's filling in for him instead."

Tear took this in, then nodded slowly. "I'll ask Mum about it later," she decided. Luke still looked unhappy, so she gave a small smile before slipping her hand into his. He blinked at the sudden contact then glanced at her, giving a short laugh.

"Come on, we're going to be late at this rate," Asch said, the group heading down the corridor.

* * *

"Alright everyone, get into your pairs!" Peony called. Everyone got with their assigned partners, Tear smiling as she stood across from Guy.

"It's been a while," she noted as they started to attack.

"I'll say. Oh yeah, did Luke ask you out last night?" asked Guy as he lunged at her. She skillfully dodged, looking surprised.

"How did you know about that?"

"Luke came running to me and Asch yesterday, going on about how he wanted to ask you out but was waaay too nervous. So I gave him a pep talk, Asch smacked him and told him he should just ask you out, then we sent him on his merry way."

"Yeah, that's sounds like Luke," she said with a sigh, throwing her spear forward. Guy blocked it, the two blades bouncing off each other and sending both of them stumbling back before they started attacking again.

"Do you think Peony'll do default or anything like that?" wondered Guy as they exchanged blows.

"Maybe. There's no real reason to stop it, and let's be honest, a lot more people would likely be willing to fight Peony because he's 'weaker'," Tear replied. She'd seen Peony in action during the fight with Daath, however, and knew he was an extremely graceful and powerful fighter. She'd been awed just watching him.

"Man, it'd be awesome to get to fight Peony. I've wanted to for ages now."

"Just request a battle then. He's in charge of Short-Ranged now, so it should be lots easier, too," Tear pointed out.

"Maybe I will. Would you come and cheer me on?" Guy asked, winking.

"I'll consider it," Tear replied with a cheeky smile, suddenly slipping past him and bringing her spear round. The wooden end caught Guy's sword, sending it flying out of his grip, then she turned and placed the blade against his neck. "Sorry. Couldn't resist," she said as his sword clattered to the ground.

"Damn Tear...You're good," Guy noted, panting slightly. Tear withdrew her spear and he walked over to his sword, bending down and picking it up.

"I try," she replied smugly.

"Very good Tear! Although, need I remind you that today's exercise was merely to practice blocks, rather than disarming the opponent?" Peony called.

"Sorry sir. I got a little carried away!" Tear called back apologetically.

"That's alright. It was very impressive, nonetheless," Peony said with a smirk before turning back to the others who had stopped to watch the pair in surprise.

Tear turned back to Guy, lifting her spear.

"Best two out of three?"

* * *

Tear knocked gently on the door, waiting a moment. Finally a voice called, "Come in."

She pushed the door open, smiling as she caught sight of Yulia. Yulia blinked in surprised then also smiled, standing up and sweeping round the table to hug Tear.

"Tear, I'm happy to see you," she murmured, kissing her forehead.

"It's great to see you too, Mum," Tear replied, hugging her tightly before drawing back. "Mum...Luke said that Lorelei was acting weird this morning. Do you know anything?" she asked.

Yulia bit her lip. "Not much, I'm afraid...He just came to me early this morning saying he had to leave and that I was in charge. I offered to go with him - Luke and Asch, along with you and Natalia, should have been more than enough to keep the school going smoothly - but he just told me that he didn't need me along with him."

Tear sighed. "I think something strange is going on. Because now that I think back, he did act a little odd at times. Luke and Asch too...just little things that were a little out of character at the time."

Yulia frowned. "Hmmm...I'll investigate a bit and see what I can turn up. Until then, just keep an eye on the boys, okay?"

Tear nodded, smiling. "Right. Thanks mum." As she turned to go, she suddenly blinked before looking back. "Also..."

Yulia tilted her head, smiling. "Yes?"

"Well...um...Luke asked me out."

Yulia gave a knowing smile. "I see. And what did you say?"

"Yes."

"That's my girl. I was wondering when you two would finally get together," she giggled.

Tear raised an eyebrow then smiled. "I'm really happy though," she said, blushing.

"As you should be. Now, run along, or everyone will be wondering where you vanished to," Yulia teased, kissing her.

"Right. See you later," Tear said, hurrying out of the room.

Yulia sighed, placing a hand on her cheek. "They grow up so fast.." she murmured, sighing.

* * *

**A/N: I just read the last few sentences and it's like 'she said, (a doing word)'. It's kinda repetitve and boring...Sorry guys :/**

**Review?**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: This chapter may test your memory a little *evil cackle***

* * *

The school was tittering for about a week about Lorelei's sudden disappearance, but eventually it calmed again, everyone continuing with their usual business. Because of that, the fact that Tear and Luke were now dating didn't actually spread too far, and they were able to keep it mostly on a low down just between their friends.

"I told you you'd end up going out," Sync said one lunch time.

"Really? I don't remember you ever saying that," Luke said, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, I do! It was that day we were talking about how Sync and Arietta are dating," Ion said, smiling at his twin.

"Oh yes, now I remember," Luke said with an evil smirk.

"Shut up. I'm not embarrassed about that anymore," Sync said loftily.

"And you, Arietta? Do you deny it?" asked Guy.

Arietta looked at him in surprise, then smiled and hugged Sync. "Of course not," she murmured, gazing at him.

Sync went red, then coughed. "Well, it's not official or anything..." he muttered, and Arietta pouted while the others laughed.

Ion glanced up before grinning and waving someone over. The group turned, watching as a brown haired and eyed girl walked over, standing behind him.

"Hey Ion. Is this your group?" she asked, grinning around at them all.

"Oh, Anise. I didn't know you and Ion knew each other," Arietta said in surprise.

"Yes, we might as well mention it now," Ion started before Anise sat down and kissed him on the cheek.

"Mention what?" she asked, smirking.

Everyone stared, then Aslan looked at Ion in surprise. "I didn't realise you and Anise were going out."

"Yeah, we've been dating for a few weeks now," Ion explained as Anise hugged him tightly.

"Seriously? Why didn't you tell me?" demanded Sync.

"I forgot. Besides, you didn't tell me you were going out with Arietta," Ion pointed out.

Sync fumbled for an excuse while Luke laughed awkwardly. "You know, Ion really can be a little more crafty than we realise..." he murmured, the others nodding slowly.

"Well, congratulations for you, Ion. And it's nice to meet you, Anise," Tear said, smiling. Everyone echoed her statement, and Anise grinned.

"Nice to meetcha all too! You guys are like, the super popular exclusive group, y'know?"

"We are?" asked Jozette, confused.

"Why? It's not like we wouldn't let people talk to us if they wanted to..." Natalia pointed out, looking at Asch. He grunted, and Natalia frowned before glancing at Tear uncertainly. The tan-haired girl shook her head, not knowing what to do. She frowned as she realised Asch had shown little interest in the events the entire time.

"Asch, are you feeling okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine," Asch replied, setting his knife and fork down then standing and taking his plate back to the counter before heading out.

"Is he okay?" Tear asked Luke.

Luke shrugged. "He's been acting a little weird, but he doesn't seem ill. I think he might be worried about Dad or something.."

"Yeah, that would make sense," agreed Guy.

"I'll try talking to him later," Natalia decided, sighing.

* * *

Luke walked into their living quaters in the main building, running a hand through his hair. He sighed then walked to the kitchen, reaching for a drink.

As he bent over, something caught his eye and he glanced at it, going still. For a moment he gazed at it before straightening, closing the fridge. He wandered over to the piano, brushing a hand over it's surface before pushing the lid up and sitting down.

The music sheet was old. It'd never moved from it's place on the piano, where Luke had always kept it. The music itself had been written by their mother, and to Luke was a precious thing. He reached out and began playing it, allowing his fingers to slip over the keys as the music drifted out.

It was a beautiful song, calm and serene, but to Luke it had a feeling of sadness. When he was younger, he always used to play it when he was lonely and sad, hoping that maybe his brother or dad would hear it and know that he wanted them to be with him.

...He didn't know if they knew that. They'd never responded to it, not while they weren't in the room at least. However, he'd heard Asch play it a couple of times, and he'd always go out and see what the matter was, so maybe they did know.

Asch, sitting on his bed in his room, blinked as the gentle melody began playing. _'That song...Mirrors?'_

He sat up straighter, listening to it, and sighed. It must be Luke...had he done something wrong? Maybe he had...he couldn't remember clearly.

He stood up and walked out of his room, quietly making his way to the main room and watching as Luke played the piano, his eyes closed as he played out the familiar tune.

Finally the song came to a halt, and Asch stepped forward. He waited a moment, watching Luke gaze at the music sheet, then walked over to him. Reaching out, he gently played the first few notes of the song, making Luke jump then look up.

Asch paused in his playing, gazing at the keys, then sighed. "...I'm sorry," he murmured.

Luke shook his head. "It's not your fault," he replied.

Asch raised an eyebrow, then nudged him. "Budge over," he said. Luke laughed then moved over, letting Asch sit next to him. Asch took a few keys, looking at Luke, and the younger took some different keys. Without any indication, they began playing together, the different tunes but same song mingling together and floating through the room as the two boys lost themselves in their own world.

* * *

Tear looked up as Luke entered the classroom and took his seat next to her, leaning back on his chair. He glanced at her and grinned, and she smiled back.

"You seem in a good mood," she noted.

"Yeah, I guess," he replied, shrugging.

"Did you and Asch work through something?" she asked.

Luke looked at her in surprise. "Are you a mind-reader? Because that is such a weird first guess."

"Maybe. So, I was right?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"It'd be nice if everything went back to normal," Tear sighed.

"It will, eventually," Luke said.

"Promise?" Tear asked.

Luke glanced at her, then nodded, smiling. "Promise," he replied.

Tear smirked. "Well, if it doesn't, then you have to do something for me," she said.

"What? Hey, no, we didn't agree to that."

"Tough."

Luke groaned and Tear laughed. The lesson started and the two of them turned to face the front, focusing on the lesson. As per usual, Luke pretty much zoned out while Tear took down detailed notes to both revise from later and because she was pretty sure Luke would beg her for them once the lesson ended.

Finally the lesson came to an end, everyone standing up and heading out of the room. Tear had a free period next, while Luke had Politics.

"Ugh, I have to deal with stuffy old Ingobert...I'll see you later," Luke said with a wave.

Tear watched him go, then started for her room, wondering if Natalia was going to do another of her impromptu makeover sessions, when her phone buzzed. She checked that no one was around before pulling it out, checking it.

_'Hey, you free on Saturday? - Luke'_

Tear blinked in surprise, wondering why he hadn't just asked her before, but maybe he'd just forgotten.

_'Yeah, I think so. Why? - Tear'_

_'You want to go down to town with me? - Luke'_

Tear stared, then went red. Was...was he asking her on a date? She quickly typed out a reply.

_'Sure. What time? - Tear'_

_'11 okay? - Luke'_

_'That's fine. I'll see you then - Tear'_

She slipped the phone back in her pocket, standing there for a moment before rushing back to her room to tell Natalia.

* * *

**A/N: I had to get some fluff in this one. I mean, we basically went straight into things in the last story, so might as well have the cute moments in this one :3**

**Also...I'm not entirely sure how to write romance? I can write kisses and stuff like that (occasionally marriage and insinuated (pretty sure I spelt that wrong) sex too), but it really won't go further than kisses. So...Sorry if you were expecting anything more :S**

**Review?**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: And finally...the date!**

**(...I've never been on a date...:'( )**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of the Abyss, though I do have a game now. Which I'm happy about.**

* * *

Saturday morning dawned bright and clear, and Natalia immediately began to primp Tear up.

"Natalia, calm down a bit, would you?" Tear said with a giggle.

"No way! It's your first date, I'm going to make you look like a goddess!"

Tear rolled her eyes then let Natalia continue applying makeup and doing various hairstyles.

Tear eventually glanced up at the clock before blinking, then jumped up. Natalia made an irritated noise as the lipstick went halfway down her chin.

"Tear! What are you doing?" she asked.

"I need to get _dressed_, Natalia! Luke'll be here in an hour!"

Natalia looked up in surprise, then stood up, crossing over to her wardrobe. She pulled it open, looking through the clothes, before pulling out a few things.

"Try these on," she ordered, passing them to Tear. Tear took them and went into the bathroom, quickly changing into some of the clothes. She stepped out, showing Natalia, who gazed at her critically. Finally she shook her head, and Tear headed back into the bathroom.

This continued for a little while, before finally Tear stepped out in a short white dress with pink leggings underneath, the strap going round the back of her neck.

"How about this one?" Tear asked, twirling. Natalia slowly nodded, grinning.

"Yeah, that's perfect! Alright, hair next," she decided, pulling Tear over to the desk and sitting her down, brushing through her hair and trying out various styles. Finally, she settled for a simple twin tail hairstyle, stepping back and smiling.

"You look gorgeous, Tear," she said, reaching for the makeup again (which Tear had washed off while changing).

A knock at the door made them both jump, and Tear looked up at the clock before looking at Natalia in panic.

"What should I do? What if I mess up?" she whispered.

"You'll be fine. Just go out there and act natural, okay? Go on!" Natalia replied, pushing her to the door. Tear gulped, taking a deep breath to calm herself, then opened the door.

"Hey Tear. I was wondering if-"

Tear slammed the door shut, growling in frustration. Of course Guy would choose _that _moment to pop over!

Guy, standing outside the door, blinked in confusion. He turned as Luke walked up, and patted his shoulder.

"I'd be careful. She seems in a bad mood," he said.

"Really? But I'm on time, aren't I?" he murmured, looking at his phone.

"On time? For what?"

"Oh...Tear and I are going down town."

Guy blinked then suddenly nodded in understanding. "Actually, that makes sense. Well, have fun," he said, waving as he walked down the corridor.

Luke turned back to the door, taking a breath, before knocking.

There was a crash, someone shouting, "GODDAMMIT GUY!", and something hitting the door. He jumped back, wondering what the hell Guy had done, before the door was thrown open by Natalia.

"WHA-oh, Luke."

Luke hesitantly waved. "Hi. Um..is Tear in?"

Natalia coughed. "Yes, just give her a moment," she replied politely, closing the door. Luke waited, a little worried now, then watched as the door opened.

Tear stepped out, brushing a stray lock of her fringe behind her ear, and he grinned.

"Hey. You ready to go? I don't mind if you need a few more minutes or something," he said.

"No, I'm fine," she replied, blushing.

"Cool. So, is there anything you're particularly wanting to do?" Luke asked as they headed down the hallway.

"No, not really.."

Luke nodded, considering. "Okay. How good are you at bowling?"

Tear looked at him, then smirked. "Is that a challenge?" she asked.

Luke frowned. "What? No, I was just..."

"That sounded like a challenge to me, Luke fon Fabre. I accept this challenge," Tear said with a smirk.

Luke blinked then grinned. "Alright then. We'll head there first," he decided, grabbing her hand and leading the way.

* * *

They reached the town and Tear looked around in interest. She hadn't really left the school grounds yet, as they were big enough to keep her interest while exploring, so the town was new to her.

It wasn't massively big like the capitals, but it was rather large and had plenty of shops and amusement things. She decided she'd let Natalia drag her down next time then followed Luke through the streets as he headed for the bowling place.

Finally they reached it, and Luke pushed the door open, holding it for Tear. She stepped through, looking around in interest as Luke closed the door then led the way forward.

They went to the counter, Luke quickly paying for two games before they changed their shoes and went to the specified alley.

Luke quickly set the game up then stepped back, giving a mock bow. "Ladies first," he said.

Tear raised an eyebrow. "Then surely you should go first," she said, making a confused expression.

Luke chuckled. "Okay then, I'll just beat you before you get a chance," he decided, reaching for one of the bowling balls. Tear stood back, watching as he lined up his roll then threw it at the pins.

It missed entirely, and Luke gave an exasperated grunt while Tear laughed.

"I thought you said you were going to beat me!" she called.

"Yeah yeah, whatever," Luke replied, grabbing another one and trying again. He managed to hit down a few, earning him some points, and grinned at her. "See? I'm not all bad," he said.

"No, you're not. But _I'm _all good," Tear replied smugly, reaching for a bowling ball. She easily threw it and it hit the centre, knocking all of the pins down in a perfect strike.

Luke stared at her. "How?! Seriously!"

"You better get ready for a thrashing," Tear teased.

Luke sighed as he went to do his turn. "Why do I get the feeling I'm fighting a losing battle?" he murmured.

* * *

When the two of them finally stepped out of the bowling place, it was Tear with two wins and Luke with a complete loss.

Tear glanced at her watch. "We still have quite a bit of time left. What should we do next?" she asked.

Luke pulled himself out of his misery, considering. "Have you ever been ice skating?" he asked finally.

Tear shook her head. "No..."

"Then that's what we'll do after we get some lunch."

"Are you paying?" asked Tear as they headed towards a café.

"Either you're hinting you want me to pay, or showing disbelief at the fact that I am.." Luke murmured, rubbing his chin as he squinted at her.

Tear raised an eyebrow. "Alright joker, let's just get to this restaurant before I hit you," she said.

Luke winced, rubbing the back of his head. "Sorry.." he mumbled.

Tear rolled her eyes. "You're being such a dork, honestly," she said, before striding ahead. Luke hurried after her, grinning to himself.

* * *

After a quick lunch, they headed over to the ice rink. It was indoors, but the place itself was huge. After Luke paid for them, they grabbed some boots and slipped them on, stepping into the rink itself. Tear immediately shivered, regretting her choice to wear a dress.

Luke noticed her shivering and frowned, leading her over to the side before touching her hand. She felt a surge of warmth through her and gasped in surprise, before looking at him in confusion. He shrugged, before holding out his hand to her.

"You don't know how to skate, right?" he asked.

"Um..no, not really.." Tear replied, hesitantly taking his hand.

"It's easy once you get the hang of it, don't worry," he reassured her, leading her out a little. He quickly showed her the basics of how to skate, then watched her as she tried. She wobbled slightly and gripped the side rail tightly, slowly making her way around the rink. Luke slowly skated beside her, correcting her occasionally.

"Lift your feet up when you finish skating on one foot to place it back infront of her, kinda like if you were running," he suggested.

Tear gave a grunt. "Are you really that amazing at this?" she asked, eyeing him. He hadn't exactly done anything impressive.

Luke shrugged then skated ahead, gaining a fair amount of speed in a short time. He then easily slipped into skating backwards, doing a lap around the rink before turning and coming to a halt next to her.

"It's not a very impressive trick, but it still takes a while to master. I'm sure you could do it though, Tear; you've got pretty good balance."

Something about the way he had weaved through people made Tear frown, and then she suddenly realised. "Hey, Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"You know a while back, when we had that sickness going around, you were slipping through people really easily. Did you learn that here?" she asked.

Luke nodded. "Dad took Asch and I ice skating since we were pretty young. Mum came sometimes too, but because of her illness, she couldn't stay in the cold for too long. He made it seem like a fun exercise, but he was mostly teaching us better balance and, in a way, how to fight in a battle easier."

Tear blinked. "Ice skating seems a lot more useful that it first appears.."

"It is. Say, for instance, you were wanting to increase your dodging abilities. Ice skating is a good way to get used to the motions you may need to go through to potentially dodge a deadly strike."

Tear considered this, then nodded. "Alright. Then..I'll learn how to properly ice skate today! And you can teach me a little, okay?"

Luke shrugged. "Sure. I'll be pretty impressed if you can perfectly ice skate after one session though," he murmured, then went back to following Tear around the rink as she tried to skate without holding onto the bar.

* * *

In the end, Tear was unable to master it, but Luke quickly brought her spirits back up.

"It takes a long time to really master ice skating. It took me about...five weeks, I think? One session every week, so it took me five sessions to be really confident without holding the bar. You're a lot older, and you have a good natural balance, so I'd say another session and you'd be able to skate happily without the bar," he pointed out.

"Really? Well, maybe I'll go again soon, if we get some free time," she decided, perking up.

Luke nodded, grinning. "It'd be pretty cool if we started going regularly. Maybe we could get Asch and Natalia to come along too? And the others, maybe."

"Could you imagine Sync in ice skates? Maybe even just wobbling all over the place?" Tear giggled.

"Oh, we definitely have to get them to come with us next time," Luke laughed.

Tear smiled then glanced at him, before blushing and looking away. After a moment, she looked at him again.

"Luke...thanks for today," she said.

Luke looked at her in surprise. "Huh? Uh, no problem...I mean, I'm glad you enjoyed yourself," he replied.

"I honestly did. You have some good ideas," she said with a smile.

"Only some?" Luke asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Everyone has their moments," Tear replied.

Luke paused, gazing at her, then leant over. Tear gazed at him for a moment before closing her eyes, their lips meeting in their second blissful kiss.

* * *

"Kyaaaa~!" Natalia cried, going bright red.

"Shhhh!" hissed everyone else while Asch pulled her back down.

"I can't believe they kissed! In public!" she squealed, rolling on the ground in an uncontrollable fangirl fit.

"Natalia, calm down," Asch sighed.

"I can't believe it took them the entire date _to _kiss. I mean, we tailed them this entire time!" Guy sighed.

"Who's idea was this, anyway?" asked Anise, glancing around.

Everyone pointed at Natalia, who was still rolling on the floor despite Asch's useless attempts to calm her.

"You realise that Tear and Luke are going to find out that we followed them, just because of Natalia, don't you?" Aslan pointed out.

Everyone nodded slowly, a few sighing before getting up to head back. The others headed off to do their own thing while they were still in town.

Asch sighed in irritation as Natalia fangirled all over the place, making people look at her weirdly.

"Natalia, if you don't stop, I will have to use force," he warned.

Natalia ignored him, and he shrugged before grabbing her shoulder. She blinked in surprise, looking up at him, just as he kissed her. She immediately returned the kiss, then proceeded to melt into a little puddle as he snake tongue'd her.

Pulling back, Asch sighed as he gazed at her limp puddle-like body.

"Well, let's get going," he decided, lifting her up and heading back to the school.

* * *

**A/N: Oh, Natalia, you.**

**I don't know if 'snake tongue'd' would be the best way to put it...I have no experience with kisses either. Ah ha...haha...ha... *crying***

**Anyway, this chapter is pretty long mostly for the reason that I felt the date may as well be in one chapter. That may mean we have less chapters overall, but I hope you don't mind and just enjoy this chapter anyway!**

**Review?**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: This is where the plot starts to thicken...**

* * *

"Good day?" asked Asch, reading a book as Luke walked into their rooms.

Luke shrugged. "Yeah, I guess," he replied.

"Have a nice kiss?"

"Yeah, it was...wait, what?"

Asch glanced up, smirking, and Luke stared at him.

"...You followed us?"

"It was Natalia's idea, actually," Asch replied, turning the page.

"Really? Why, did you think I'd mess up or something?"

"Not particularly. I think Natalia followed purely for the kiss, to be honest."

"...You have a weird girlfriend."

Asch snorted, then felt irritation rise. With a snap he closed his book, giving Luke a cold glare.

"Don't speak about her that way," he growled.

Luke looked confused, then frowned. "I can talk about her whatever way I want," he snapped.

"Not while I'm in the room. How would you feel if I started badmouthing Tear?!" Asch demanded, standing up.

"I wouldn't care. I'm not a over-sensitive idiot like you," Luke snorted, folding his arms.

"Really? What if I said she could do way better than you? In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you guys broke up pretty soon."

Luke clenched his fist. "Take that back," he snarled.

"Make me," Asch replied. Luke didn't reply and he shrugged before walking out of the room, heading to his bedroom.

Luke's anger abated and he sighed, feeling ridiculously tired. He wandered over to the sofa and lay down, staring up at the ceiling.

"...What's wrong with me?" he muttered, turning onto his side and closing his eyes.

* * *

"Hey...is it just me, or do Luke and Asch seem to be arguing a lot lately?" asked Ion in Fonic Artes one day.

The group watched the two boy snap at each other before turning back to their own things, resolutely ignoring the other.

"It's strange. They've always gotten on so well..." Natalia murmured, frowning.

"Maybe they're stressed..?" Arietta suggested quietly.

"What have they got to be stressed about? They're rich," Anise pointed out.

"There's more to people than money, Anise," Tear reprimanded her. Anise made an apologetic face, shrugging.

"Do you two know anything about it?" asked Ion, looking at the two girls.

They both shook their heads. "They get on fine, normally...Nothing seems to have really changed recently, apart from Mr Lorelei leaving for that trip. They could be worried, I guess," Natalia said.

"Yeah, he did leave pretty suddenly," agreed Anise.

"Having a nice chat?"

The group went quiet, looking back at Jade who was standing directly behind them. They quickly ducked their heads down, continuing with their notes.

"See, this is what you guys get when you don't concentrate," Sync sighed, who had been steadfastedly making notes the entire conversation.

* * *

Tear headed outside at lunch with the other girls, happily chatting. It wasn't very often they left the boys, but sometimes it was nice just to have girly chats without rolled eyes.

Arietta and Anise, seeming to have a similar taste in fashion, were conversing about whether black on pink or pink on black looked cuter, while Natalia and Jozette exchanged pointers on the Escapism class.

Tear smiled, tilting her head back. She enjoyed it when the atmosphere was relaxed like this. It was so tense around Luke and Asch at the moment...just hanging around with her 'girlfriends' was a relief in itself.

"What do you think, Tear? Do you want to go shopping this weekend?" asked Jozette, looking at her.

Tear turned to look at her, about to agree, when she froze. Her eyes widened, and the other girls looked at her in surprise.

"Tear? What's the matter?" asked Natalia, following her gaze then also blinking.

"What? What? I don't get it," Anise said, pouting.

"The tree.." Tear murmured. The other girls followed her gaze, seeing the large, withering tree. It's leaves were starting to fall and were brown in colour, long dried. The bark was rotting, and it looked like a sad excuse for a tree.

"What's so special about a tree?" asked Jozette, confused.

"...That's Luke and Asch's tree. If it's rotting, then..." Tear muttered to herself. She shook her head, then looked at the others. "We have to stop Luke and Asch from arguing," she said.

"But..how? I mean, it's their choice...we don't really have a right to interfere," Natalia pointed out.

"...Maybe one of the other boys could talk to them?" Arietta suggested.

"Yeah! Guy could do it, he's good friends with them, right?" Anise said enthusiastically.

"Okay then, let's go ask Guy," decided Jozette, the girls quickly hurrying back inside.

* * *

The blonde looked at the five girls in surprise. "...You want me to get Luke and Asch to stop fighting?" he asked.

They all nodded, and he sighed.

"Look, I know you're concerned, but I really don't think there's any point trying to forcefully sort it out. They'll work through it."

"So you won't even try?" asked Natalia.

Guy rubbed the back of his head. "...I can try, but no promises, okay?" he replied. They all nodded, smiling at each other.

"Can you try talking to them tonight?" asked Tear.

Guy nodded. "I sincerely doubt it'll work though," he warned them.

"We get it already. Just tell them!" Anise said, waving him off.

* * *

The next morning, Short Ranged Weaponry was first, and Tear waited anxiously in the hall, glancing at the door. Finally Guy entered, and she perked up, heading over to him.

"How did it go?" she asked.

"Well..." Guy replied, then winced as the two red-heads barged in behind him, yelling at each other. Tear looked downcast, and Guy shrugged in apology. "They wouldn't listen to me. I told you they might not," he pointed out.

"I know..." Tear murmured, hugging herself.

The lesson began, Tear and Guy in their usual pair. Tear's actions weren't in it, however, and Guy quickly eased up on the attacks, realising she wasn't fully concentrating and not wanting to hurt her by accident.

The lesson was to simply channel some fonons down your weapon, giving it more power (if you were a fonon user), but Tear was barely trying. Guy wasn't very adept at fonon control, so wasn't doing it anyway.

There was a sudden rush of power and a few people screamed, ducking. Tear and Guy turned to the source, gazing at the two red-heads.

"What the hell are you doing?! You idiot! You could have killed half the class!" snarled Asch.

"It's not _my _fault! You keep distracting me!" Luke shouted

"So it's _my _fault now? You're such a baby! Just acecpt your own responsibilty!"

Tear gazed at them, torn, then shook her head and stepped towards them.

"Luke, Asch, please, stop fighting! This isn't like you!" she cried.

"Shut up! Don't tell me what to do!" Asch snapped at her.

"Don't talk to her that way!" Luke growled.

"Come on then. Make me stop," Asch taunted, easily blocking the strike from Luke.

The fight quickly got serious, the two of them not holding back as they hammered at each other. Peony sighed, then turned to Tear.

"I don't suppose you'd be able to get them to stop?" he asked, already knowing about her Fonic Hymns.

Tear nodded, taking a breath then starting to sing.

_"Toue Rei Zue Kuroa Ryou Toue Zue.."_

She directed the power towards the two boys and watched as their eyes drooped, their swords falling from their grasp as they collapsed.

Peony nodded. "Good job, Tear. Alright, let's move these boys to the Infirmary, okay?"

Several people walked over, picking them up and carrying them out of the room.

Tear glanced at Guy, then brought her gaze to the ground.

"...I hope they get back to normal soon," she said finally.

* * *

**A/N: Actually, this is more plot than I realised 0_0 But yes. The magical tree once again makes an appearance. I dunno, special magical rotting tree seems kinda interesting in a weird way.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: It's at that point in the story that I thought, 'Ah, this is much shorter than I thought it'd be. The big showdown is already arriving.'**

**And then it became waaay bigger. Don't worry folks, we have about 10 chapters left, give or take a few.**

* * *

It had been a couple of days since the incident which ended with them in the Infirmary, and the two boys had been pretty mellow for the entire time. Everyone was hoping they had finally gotten over their arguments, which made them both a little embarrassed.

Asch opened the door and stepped in, pausing a moment. He automatically sought out the normal sound of Luke and Lorelei chatting, then gave a quiet sigh as he realised that of course that wouldn't happen.

He closed the door behind him, heading further down the hall to the living area, glancing in. Luke was sitting on the sofa, one knee pulled up to his chest as he gazed out of the window at the sky. For a moment Asch remained where he was, then he walked forward.

"Are you worried?" he asked.

Luke barely reacted apart from a small nod. Asch knew Luke was always worried like this, scared that he'd lose his only family like he almost had before.

Then irritation bubbled in him and he snorted.

"Why? Dad'll be fine, he's tougher than you give him credit for."

Luke looked up in surprise, but Asch just turned away.

"Honestly Luke, you act like such a baby sometimes," he added.

"Asch? What's the matter?" asked Luke, and Asch looked back with a raised eyebrow. Luke's large emerald eyes looked almost scared, but that just made his irritation deeper.

"I have an idiot for a brother, is what's the matter. You're practically useless, Luke."

Luke flinched, then tried to cover it up. "Asch...are you feeling okay?"

"Stop asking! Jeez, I've already said I'm fine!"

"Then why are you yelling at me?"

"Because if I didn't, it wouldn't get through your thick skull!" Asch snapped. He stepped forward, glaring. "This is why your grades are always so low. Dad should have just pulled you out - you're so stupid, you'd need a private tutor. Maybe he left because he's so disappointed in you."

Luke gazed at him a moment, then lowered his gaze. "...Sorry.." he mumbled.

"Sorry? You think sorry is going to cut it?" Asch snapped, then grunted. "Just looking at you is an eye sore. Leave already, would you?"

Luke stood up and silently walked past him, out of the room. Asch took a seat on the sofa, letting his head rest on the back, and felt tension drain from his body. What he'd just said suddenly hit him and he blinked before shooting up.

"Wait...what? Why...Why did I say.." he murmured, rubbing his forehead. He shook his head, standing up. "Asch, you stupid idiot, that was going too far.." he muttered to himself as he hurried out of the room.

* * *

A knock at their door made Tear look up, watching as Natalia crossed over to it. She opened it before blinking.

"Luke?" she asked, surprised.

"Hey...is Tear here?" he asked. Tear could already tell from his voice that he was upset about something, and apparently Natalia could too.

"She's here. What's the matter?" she asked.

"It's nothing...I just..."

Tear stood up, Natalia stepping aside as she joined them.

"Hey. What's up?" she asked Luke.

He seemed relieved to see her, then glanced away. "...Could I talk to you about something?" he asked.

"Sure...Should we go somewhere else?"

Luke nodded and Tear stepped out, glancing back at Natalia who seemed just as concerned as she was.

The two of them headed outside, Luke glancing around uncertainly. They reached a quiet area, Luke sitting heavily on the floor, and Tear sat down next to him.

"Now, what's the problem?" Tear asked gently, reaching out and taking his hand.

"...Asch got really mad at me. Like..he was yelling, saying I was stupid and useless and stuff..."

Tear frowned. That was definitely out of character for Asch. He adored his little twin brother.

"Why?"

"I don't know. That's the thing; it was completely unexpected. He asked _me _if I was worried, and then he started yelling at me. It was...really confusing."

"Mmm...I can't really think of any reason why he would get like that, then.." Tear murmured.

"That's because you're an idiot," Luke snapped, then blinked before clamping a hand on his mouth. Tear stared at him, and he carefully removed his hand. "I'm sorry! I don't...I don't even know why I said that!"

Tear frowned. "...Have you two been feeling okay recently?"

"Well, yeah...I mean, sometimes I get a little irritated for no reason, but Dad just said that was probably hormones."

"I think it's a little more than hormones, Luke. You two have been acting a little strange for the last few weeks, and everyone's getting worried. I honestly think there's something wrong with you."

"Oh, so you're saying I've got a problem with me now, are you?" Luke growled, before blinking. He bit down on his thumb, pulling out his phone and starting to text.

Tear's phone beeped and she pulled it out, opening it.

_'I'm so sorry...I don't know what's wrong with me. - Luke'_

Tear looked up at him, then sighed, reaching out and putting her arms around him. She hugged him gently, nestling her head on his shoulder. He glanced down at her in surprise, then laid his head on top of hers, placing his hand on hers.

"...Meld your fonons with mine," he said suddenly.

Tear looked up at him. "What?"

"It's what me, Asch and Dad do sometimes...you meld your fonons together to create a huge hyperresonance."

Tear frowned. "Why do you want to do that?" she asked, confused.

"Because..It just feels like something we should do," Luke replied.

"Is this irritated Luke talking?" Tear asked, raising an eyebrow.

Luke laughed. "No..I'm definitely meaning to say this."

Tear smiled, gripping his hand. "..Alright. How do we do it?"

"The feeling you get when using your seventh fonons, activate that. Try and use as much power as possible," Luke coached.

Tear closed her eyes, focusing, then brought forward the power she felt when healing someone or using artes.

"More," Luke murmured. Tear frowned in concentration, forcing more fonons forward.

She felt Luke take a breath, then jumped as a huge surge of seventh fonons appeared. She opened her eyes, looking at Luke and staring at the gold glow around him. How could he summon so many seventh fonons so easily when she had had such trouble...? He frowned, and she felt the fonons moving, curling around hers. Tear glanced down at her hand, watching as a gold glow also appeared around her.

Then she felt something...different. She wasn't sure what it was, but it felt like it shouldn't belong there.

"Luke...stay still a minute," she murmured. Luke nodded quickly, then Tear took a breath before singing.

_"Ryou Rei Kuroa Ryou Zue Rei Va Zue Rei..."_

The thing fought slightly against her power, but didn't disappear. She frowned, then tried a different one.

_"Va Rei Zue Toue Neu Toue Ryou Toue Kuroa.."_

Again it fought, though it was weaker, and Tear bit her lip, before something occured to her. She tried again, hoping it would work this time.

_"Va Rei Zeu Toue Neu Toue Ryou Toue Kuroa_

_Ryou Rei Kuroa Ryou Zue Rei Va Zue Rei..."_

She almost thought she heard an angry scream as the thing was pushed away. Luke stiffened under her, then let out a sigh of relief. Their connection faded and Tear opened her eyes, looking up at Luke. He gave a vague chuckle.

"You don't know how good I feel right now.." he murmured before his eyes slid shut and he crashed into Tear, sending them both sprawling onto the ground.

Tear grunted, then sighed. "You're so awkward sometimes," she murmured, before giggling and cuddling him tightly.

* * *

**A/N: Hehehehe...You'll find out what that was soon. Just you wait. Hehehehe..**

**Review?**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: This bit may or may not be split into two chapters...we'll see.**

* * *

"Do you think the same thing is wrong with Asch?" Tear asked as she and Luke walked through the hallways.

"Probably. I feel loads better, like there was a weight lifted off me, and I don't feel angry or irritated at all. Asch probably feels the same way, so we need to help him before it gets too bad," Luke replied, glancing around. "This way," he said, turning down a different corridor.

They headed out of the building into a large garden surrounded by a high wall. Luke hesitated briefly, glancing around, then shook his head and pressed forward. Tear glanced at the flowers, marvelling at how well-cared for the garden was.

Finally Luke came to a halt, Tear just bumping into him then stepping back.

"Asch," Luke said, and Tear looked forward, seeing the crimson-haired twin gazing at the flowers.

"...What do you want?" Asch asked.

"We want to help you. Please, Tear knows how to make you feel better," Luke said.

"What makes you think I don't feel fine already?"

"Please, don't cut it off just yet. She did it to me as well, and I feel so much better. Asch, please-"

"Shut up," Asch snarled. Luke flinched, before his stubbornness rose again.

"I'm not going to act like the obediant little twin, Asch! _You have to listen to me!"_

"I said shut up!" Asch shouted, turning and drawing his sword. He leapt at Luke, who quickly drew his own sword, and the two engaged in a fight.

Tear stepped back as the two hammered at each other, wishing there was a way to stop them without harming them. If she used 'Nightmare' while not focusing properly, it may cause them to sleep for longer, and at any point they could fall in a permanent coma. She didn't want to risk that right now, when she was uncertain of her own capabilities.

However, she could clearly see it was a one-sided battle. Luke, unwilling to hurt the older, was only defending against Asch's attacks. Asch, on the other hand, was extremely willing to hurt Luke. His attacks were merciless, and she saw Luke getting more and more injured.

Trying to steady her nerves, she closed her eyes.

"V-_Va Rei Zue Toue...Neu _T-_Toue.."_

She growled at herself, trying again.

"_Va Rei Zuet.._No! Tear, pull yourself together!" she muttered.

A sudden yell caught her attention and she looked up, her heart jumping to her throat. Luke scrambled for his sword as Asch knocked it out his hand, then grunted as Asch pushed him onto his back, kneeling over him. He pointed his sword at Luke's neck, keeping his arms pinned by his side with his knees.

Luke gazed at the blade a moment, then up at Asch. "...Are you going to kill me?" he asked finally.

Asch didn't reply, raising the sword higher. Luke frowned then glanced at Tear.

"Tear! I think I've figured it out...Try and find someone nearby! Anyone!" he called to her.

Tear glanced around uncertainly. She didn't have the type of fonon control Luke, Asch or Lorelei had, so she couldn't exactly search for them. Luke seemed to notice her hesitation and closed his eyes. After a moment, he opened them again.

"Around the left side of the building, someone using Dark fonons!" he directed. Tear nodded and hurried off, forcing herself to stay calm.

_"Kuroa Ryou Kuroa Neu Toue Rei Kuroa Ryou Zue Rei Va.." _she quickly sang even as she turned the building. She barely caught sight of the person, blinking as she recognised him, before releasing the arte on him.

He gave a cry as the attack slammed into him before falling to his knees. Tear quickly knelt next to him, pulling him up slightly by the front of his shirt.

"Mohs...I should have realised it was someone like you. Release Asch," she said, frowning.

Mohs gave a weak laugh. "Even...if I cut the connection now...The command is sent. That i-idiot will kill his brother...no matter what!" Mohs said, giggling uncontrollably before falling unconcious.

Tear gritted her teeth then stood up, leaving Mohs where he was. She hurried back to the boys, biting her lip as she saw that Asch was still trying to hold himself back.

"Luke! I got him, but he says that 'the command' won't stop until Asch completes it," she called, glancing between the two of them.

"That's alright, Tear. Do what you did with me earlier, okay?" Luke called back, wincing as the sword cut his throat slightly.

Tear felt panic run through her but tried to remain calm, calling her fonons out. After a moment she felt a surge of fonons, this time from Asch, and began mixing them together, albeit much more sloppily than Luke had.

Finally she brushed the thing which she now realised was what controlled Asch and Luke, and took a deep breath, feeling her heart beating wildly.

_"Va Rei Zue Toue Neu Toue Ryou Toue Kuroa_

_Ryou Rei Kuroa Ryou Zue Rei Va Zue Rei."_

She felt the thing fighting her, and felt herself go cold as she realised it was much stronger than the one Luke had had.

"L-Luke..I can't.."

"It's okay, just do it again!" Luke called urgently.

Tear nodded shakily, closing her eyes.

_"Va Rei Zue Toue Neu Toue Ryou Toue Kuroa_

_Ryou Rei Kuroa Ryou Zue Rei Va Zue Rei."_

It still fought her, and she bit her lip. Tiredness swept through her, and she hugged herself, realising that this was completely hopeless. She didn't have enough energy to fight it...Asch was going to kill Luke.

"Luke..!" she cried.

"Pull back, Tear!" Luke ordered, and she quickly untangled her fonons from Asch's. Luke gazed at Asch, emerald eyes meeting emerald. "Listen, Asch, Tear's already helped you so much. I _know _you have the strength to beat this!"

"No I don't! You're such an optimist...Don't you get it?! There's no way out of this!" Asch shouted, gritting his teeth.

"You're fighting it now though, aren't you?" Luke said.

"It's taking all my strength, Luke. You don't know just how hard this is," Asch replied, shaking his head.

"Then stop fighting."

"I can't do that!"

"Then fight harder! You only have two options right now, Asch!"

"...I can't..."

_"It's alright. Don't fight."_

The two boys blinked while Tear stared. Suzanne hovered above Asch, her arms around him, hands gently touching his arms, gripping them.

_"Just let go. I promise, you won't hurt him."_

"M-Mum?" Asch breathed.

_"Luke, dear, when Asch releases it, he will miss. When that happens, use your fonons to force that thing from his mind," _Suzanne said.

Luke nodded and Suzanne smiled, before kissing Asch's cheek. _"Alright sweetie. Let go," _she murmured.

Asch took a deep breath then stopped fighting. With ease, Suzanne made his arms jolt slightly, the sword hitting the ground beside Luke's head. Without pausing, Luke immediately brought his fonons forward, the full force hitting Asch.

Tear covered her face, ducking down as flames burned around her. She felt someone grasp her and glanced up, blinking as she caught sight of a small red-haired girl who grinned cheekily at her. The flames went around them, not hurting either of them at all, and even the heat seemed to fade.

"Who...who are you?" Tear gasped, gazing at her.

The girl raised a finger to her lips, then faded as the flames stopped. Tear quickly straightened, looking towards the two boys, and went still for a moment as neither of them moved. Finally Asch slumped, hitting Luke, and Tear sighed in relief before hurrying over.

* * *

**A/N: I was rereading the first part when I was writing this, and I realised, 'Hey, wait. I gave Luke and Asch a sister?' I wasn't really planning on doing anything with her, but...well. I didn't exactly want Tear burnt to a crisp either.**

**Review?**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: The beginning may seem a little disjointed, because originally this chapter and last chapter were going to be the same...but other than that, it should be fine. :)**

* * *

"Are you alright?" Tear asked Luke.

"Fine. I don't suppose you'd be able to get this lump off me, would you?" Luke asked, nodding to Asch.

Tear reached down, pulling Asch off so that he was sprawled on his side next to Luke. Luke groaned in relief, letting out a long sigh.

"I was a little worried for a minute there," he admitted.

"No kidding. I was a little scared too," agreed Tear, sitting down next to him.

Luke glanced at her, then smiled. "You did really well Tear. Thanks," he said.

Tear looked at him, sighing as she noticed the cut at his neck. "I'm sorry...I'd heal you, but I'm worried I might collapse if I use another one."

"That's fine. It doesn't hurt much anyway," Luke replied, waving her off.

Tear glanced around. "Where did Suzanne go?" she asked.

Luke shrugged. "Who knows. I was pretty surprised she came at all, to be honest. I didn't realise she still had a few fonons around. Still, this _is _her garden. Asch has been caring for it ever since she passed, so maybe he managed to keep her presence here somehow," he said.

Tear frowned, considering something. "When you made those flames appear..."

Luke blinked, then sat up, looking at her in concern. "I'm sorry, I wasn't properly controlling it...You didn't get hurt, did you?"

Tear shook her head, smiling at him reassuringly. "No..A little girl appeared and protected me."

Luke looked confused. "Really? What did she look like?"

"Red hair like flames, and bright green eyes. Almost like you and Asch."

"Well, it couldn't have been Mum.."

"Do you think it was your sister?"

Luke went quiet, then lay back down. "..Maybe. Seeing as her fonons were pretty linked with Mum's when she was born, maybe her fonons remained with Mum's too."

Tear nodded slowly, then looked at Luke out of the corner of her eye. "..Can I ask some questions?"

"Huh? Well, yeah, sure."

"Why are you so powerful?"

Luke blinked, then considered. "Dad, mostly. He's made entirely out of Seventh Fonons, for some reason, and we got a lot of that."

"But seventh is Sound, not Fire. So why is it, whenever you manifest your powers, you use flames?"

Luke glanced at her. "According to Dad, Mum was primarily a Fifth Fonon user. It's what she was mostly made of, as well as a bit of Second. We both got quite a lot of the Fifth Fonons from her, though I think Asch got a few Second as well, considering he seems to have a better attunement with nature than I do. That just makes my flames stronger, but means Asch can do something like this," Luke explained, motioning to the garden around them.

"And how can you track other Fonons?"

"We mostly 'sense' them. If they're being used, we can pick them up. Because Asch and I are pretty much constantly exerting Seventh Fonons, we can sense each other anywhere, and Dad can too."

"Then why are so many people trying to hurt you? You're not doing anything wrong.."

Luke shook his head. "I'm not sure. Dad would be a better person to ask."

"Speaking of which, we should find Lorelei. He was probably under the mind control, right?" Tear pointed out.

"True. We'll go looking tomorrow, when we've all rested properly."

Tear raised an eyebrow. "You're just going to sleep out here?" she asked.

"Yep," Luke replied, lying back before closing his eyes and quickly falling asleep.

Tear sighed, then shrugged, figuring she may as well just stay here while she was here. She took her phone out, looking through her contacts for someone to tell where they were, then blinked as she spotted Yulia's name.

"...You're kidding me. I had Mum in my contacts the entire time?" she sighed, before quickly texting her and lying down, snuggling into Luke's hair. It really was like a giant fluffy pillow...she was almost jealous.

She soon received the reply and smiled before closing her eyes, cuddling Luke's hair. After a little while, she fell asleep as well, smiling happily.

* * *

The next morning she woke up to find Asch shaking her shoulder lightly. She blinked her eyes open, looking up at him blearily.

"Mmmnn, Asch? What's going on?" she asked, confused.

"Luke explained the situation. We'll be leaving soon. Also, I think Luke wants you off his hair."

Tear blinked before sitting up quickly, pulling several strands of Luke's hair and headbutting Asch in the nose in the process. Both boys yelped, and Tear quickly apologised, going bright red.

Luke rubbed his head, standing up. "Okay, just pack some stuff together, we'll head out afterwards, okay?" he said.

Tear nodded, blushing, before heading back to her room. She entered it to find Natalia getting ready for school. The blonde looked at Tear in surprise as she entered.

"Where have you been? Everyone's been looking for you!" she cried.

"I had to deal with a problem of Luke and Asch being mind-controlled. It's nothing to worry about, Asch didn't kill Luke in the end, and we're going to go find Lorelei now before he ends up hurting himself or someone else," Tear explained, throwing some clothes into her bag.

"Wait, _what?! _They were mind-controlled? And what do you mean, Asch didn't kill Luke in the end!" Natalia demanded.

"There's really no time to explain right now. If you're really desperate to know, just come with us," Tear said without thinking.

Natalia nodded. "I think I will," she agreed, easily changing back into her normal clothes and packing some more away.

Tear looked at her in surprise. "Are you sure? I mean..."

"I'm sure, Tear. They're as much my family as they are yours," Natalia pointed out. Tear blinked then smiled; she kept forgetting just how much Natalia cared for them all.

"Alright, we should get going," Tear decided, pulling her bag onto her shoulder and hurrying out of the room with Natalia in tow.

* * *

Asch eye-twitched while Luke stared in surprise at the large group of people.

"And why, exactly, are _they _all here?" asked Asch, motioning to the group of students and a few teachers.

"Well, we told a few people, and then it spread, and then pretty much everyone wanted to come," Tear said, embarrassed.

"Do you know how hard it's going to be, searching with a group this big?"

"Actually, I was going to suggest we split into several groups to cover the entire country. Yulia has already provided us with a means of communication between each team, and it means we stand more of a chance of being successful," Jade interrupted.

"Please, let us help," Ion pleaded, green eyes large.

"...Do what you want," Asch muttered, turning away.

"I don't get why they all want to come along," Luke said quietly to Tear, looking around at everyone.

"It's because, despite what you think, everyone here cares for you two and Lorelei. And not because of what you are, but because they like you for who _you _are," Tear explained, smiling.

"Right. We're all in this together," Guy agreed, throwing an arm around Luke's neck.

Luke blinked, then smiled. "Thanks guys. Really," he said.

It took a little while to organise everyone into groups, but finally they started out in groups of five or more - every group was required to have a fighter, a healer, a long-ranged fighter, and an artes user, as well as someone else who would preferably be rather flexible between all of these things.

Tear's group ended up being herself (as the flexible but primarily a healer), Sync (as the artes user), Luke and Asch (as fighters), and Arietta (as primarily long-ranged).

One all the groups were finally sorted, they started off, heading in different directions as agreed. It was easy enough for one person in each group - preferably the flexible one - to keep in contact with the main group; the students and teachers who had remained at the school ready to send out any type of help to any group who needed it.

Natalia patted Tear on the shoulder as they went to their separate groups. "Make sure to take care of everyone, okay?" she said, smiling.

Tear nodded, returning the smile. "You as well. Don't push yourself too hard," she replied.

Natalia nodded before walking over to her group which consisted of the rest of their friends. A few teachers joined the weaker groups, then Yulia looked around at them all.

"You know what you need to do, and you know that this is important. However, if you get too injured to continue, don't push yourself. Call for help, and someone will arrive to collect you. Be careful, and don't exhaust your healers - they may need to use their artes in a moment of crisis, and if you tire them unnecessarily, they won't be able to. Does everyone understand?"

They all nodded, gripping their weapons tighter.

"Good. I'll send the groups out one at a time, so when I call the name of your 'flexible' member, head out!"

She started rolling off names, and the groups left one at a time, expressions set. Finally Tear's group was called, and they headed out. As they entered the woods, the school slowly disappearing from view, Tear realised just what a huge job this was.

They were going to search the entire country? For _one _person? ...This was going to be like finding a needle in a haystack.

* * *

**A/N: Hair-sleeping Tear strikes again. I never realised how many references this had to the first part...**

**And we're going on a manhunt! YAY!**

**Review?**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Despite what you may think...we're nowhere near finished yet.**

**Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN IT, OKAY?! LEAVE ME ALONE! *loud crying***

* * *

It had been a few days already. The route her group had been given meant that they were heading towards Grand Chokmah, easily a few weeks walk.

However, they couldn't complain. When selecting routes, they had immediately opted for one of the harder ones; with their selection of people in their group, it was easy to get them to agree. Each of them were resilient and had high endurance - Sync was a quick fighter, so could easily defeat weak enemies in moments; Arietta could control monsters, so she sent them out to scout ahead and get rid of most of the weaker monsters ahead; Luke and Asch's ability to sense fonons meant they could tell if a human enemy was up ahead, and they could quickly send Sync off to get them; and Tear had Yulia's Fonic Hymns, as well as the fact that she didn't tire easily, so a single night's rest could completely restore all her energy while others may begin to lag after a while.

Early on the fourth day, when they were all quietly talking and Arietta was making a careful check of their supplies, Luke suddenly blinked. He went still, closing his eyes and focusing.

The others stopped a moment later, looking back at him in confusion. "Luke? What are you doing?" asked Tear, frowning.

A gold glow appeared around him and he opened his eyes, showing them to be a deep, burnished gold. He turned, heading to the edge of the cliff and gazing out over the ocean.

"...Dad's somewhere over there," he said finally.

Asch blinked before hurrying next to him, closing his eyes. A moment later the same gold glow appeared around him, and he bit his lip.

"I wasn't paying attention...Sorry," he murmured.

"It doesn't matter. We need to get across the water," Luke replied.

Tear quickly pulled her phone out, pressing a name and ringing. She held it up to her ear, waiting a moment.

_"Hello? Tear?"_

"Hi Mum. Luke and Asch can sense Lorelei."

_"Excellent. Where is he?"_

"Over the sea somewhere..." Tear replied, glancing at the map Arietta had pulled out. She quickly pointed at where they were and Tear nodded her thanks. "Probably the desert," she added, before blinking and going white.

The rest of the group stared, then looked out over the water.

_"It would be the one place we decided not to send a group...Alright. Jade is coming with the Tartarus. He should arrive within a few hours, so just wait, okay?"_

"Okay," Tear replied, before stopping the call. She turned to the others. "Jade is coming with the Tartarus, so we need to wait. He should only take a few hours, according to Mum."

The two red-heads looked out over the water again before Asch sat down, closing his eyes. Luke quickly joined him, the two of them going quiet. After a moment the gold glow intensified.

"Luke? Asch? What are you doing?" asked Tear.

"Being idiots, obviously. Leave them to it, it's their fault if they tire themselves out needlessly," Sync said, waving them off and sitting down. Arietta sat next to him, pulling out some of their food and passing it between the three of them.

Tear sighed and also sat, keeping a watchful eye out for any monsters as they waited.

* * *

Before, the two boys had only been sensing his fonons. Now they changed it, trying to link with them and communicate.

After a moment the connection was returned and they felt relief enter them.

_"Dad! Are you okay?" _Luke asked, concern easily eminating from him.

_"Calm down, Luke. You don't want to drown him," _Asch reprimanded.

_"Ah..Right, sorry," _Luke mumbled, quickly quelling his emotions.

_"Don't worry Luke. Anyway, in answer to your question...I'm not sure. I haven't been fully in control of my body for about a month, now, and I only managed to cut this part of my mind from the rest of it to protect myself," _Lorelei replied.

_"Everyone's been really worried. We figured out what was going on, though," _Luke said.

_"Oh? What was it? I know it was mind control, but that's all..."_

_"Some creep called Mohs - a supporter of Van's - controlled all three of us. I think he did it through the image of Mum we saw," _Asch explained.

_"Yes, that would make sense...I wonder where Van learnt an arte like that, though... Anyway, considering you're speaking in past tense, I assume you two broke out of it?"_

_"Not exactly. Tear forced it out of me, because for some reason it was weaker. Me and Tear both tried to with Asch, but we weren't able to fully...so Mum ended up helping out," _Luke said.

_"You're mother helped again, eh? Sounds like her..."_

_"Again?" _asked Asch.

_"She appeared after we fought with Van. I only vaguely recognised her presence, but it was definitely her - Tear confirmed it."_

_"Also..." _Luke began, before hesitating.

_"What?"_

_"Well...Tear said, when I released my power, a girl with red hair and emerald eyes - looking a lot like us - appeared and protected her. So..I wondered if she was our sister?"_

Lorelei considered. _"It's possible," _he agreed.

_"Why is Tear the one who always get to meet them?" _Asch muttered grumpily.

_"Now now, don't be mardy."_

_"You're really alright though, Dad? You sound pretty distant.." _Asch noted.

Lorelei sighed. _"Truthfully, no. I'm not sure why, but my body isn't responding at all, not even to the mind-controlled part of me. I have no idea where I am, either."_

_"You'll be okay though, won't you Dad?" _Luke asked fearfully.

_"Given enough rest, yes, I should be fine. Now, you two should cut the connection before you use up too much energy."_

_"But..!"_

_"No buts. Cut the connection, or I'll force you two out."_

The two boys grimaced, remembering the last time that had happened, and obediantly drew back.

_"We'll find you soon, Dad. Promise," _Luke said.

_"I know. Now get out!"_

* * *

**A/N: Yeah, gawd, Luke, get out of his freaking head. Ugh, you brain invader you.**

**So, yes. Telepathy to the ultimate max! Screw twin telepathy, I give you...Fonon Telepathy! WOO!**

**Review?**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: And now, we discover just how stupid Luke and Asch ****_really _****are.**

* * *

Tear turned as the gold glow suddenly disappeared, and watched as the two boys opened their eyes. For a moment they were still, then Luke sighed.

"Will he really be alright..?" he murmured, lying back.

"You heard the old man. He's too stubborn to let something like this bother him anyway," Asch said, waving his hand.

"You're not worried, Asch?"

"Of course I am, you dork. I'm just not as worried as you."

"Thanks," Luke said sarcastically.

Asch glanced over at Tear. "How much longer, do you think?" he asked.

Tear looked at her watch. "I wouldn't think it would be too long to begin with...But maybe an hour or so, at least," she replied.

"Good. See, Luke? Nothing to worry about."

Luke rolled his eyes, then his gaze went distance as he gazed up at the sky. Asch wandered over to Arietta, grabbing some food and easily chewing on it.

Tear giggled slightly. It was weird to consider that Luke and Asch - and Lorelei, too - had the ability to completely destroy everything...and here they were, eating food and gazing at clouds, acting like the soft idiots they were.

Maybe Van was just scared of their power. He always liked to be the most powerful; when they were younger, Tear had quickly realised she was actually much stronger than Van, but pretended to be weaker because if he felt weaker, he fought back. It wouldn't surprise her if that was his only reason for wanting to get rid of them.

But watching them now, she couldn't imagine them ever wanting to hurt _anything_.

"What are you chuckling about over there?" asked Luke, glancing at her.

"Oh...nothing. Just thinking how strange this situation is."

They glanced at each other. "Well...I guess so, but it's not _that _strange," Sync pointed out, confused.

Tear shrugged, deciding she didn't really want to explain what she meant.

* * *

Jade soon arrived, docking the boat and climbing down to join them.

"I see you kids got comfortable, hohoho."

"You were taking too long, so we figured we'd relax while we got the chance," Asch shot back.

"You young people nowadays have such little respect for the older generation," Jade sighed as they all walked onto the Tartarus.

"You're too old to have respect," Asch replied.

"Or you're too young to give it," Jade said, smirking.

"At least I'm not an old man. Are you sure you should be coming with us? I wouldn't want you dropping dead while driving."

"No need to be concerned for me. If I do drop dead, I'll leave you youngsters to take care of the situation."

"Just don't drive us into an iceberg on purpose, old man."

"I wouldn't dream of it!"

Tear looked confused at the rude banter between the two of them, but Luke waved it off. "They've always been like that. They've actually got a pretty good relationship - I think Asch is one of Jade's favourite students."

"But isn't this going a little too far?" she asked.

"Nah. I've heard worse. Jade's just sarcastic, and Asch is naturally rude, so they go pretty well together."

"O-Oh.."

"Hey, Jade, we should get going soon," Luke called.

"Really? Are you sure you don't want to wait a little longer?" Jade asked pleasantly.

"If we wait any longer, you could end up dying before we get there. Might as well spend the last minutes of your life useful," Asch commented.

"Unless we hit an iceberg, hohoho," Jade chortled, though he soon had the engine going. The Tartarus pulled away from the mainland, heading out to sea.

"So, are we just going to wander the ocean randomly until we figure out where the desert is?" asked Sync.

Luke shook his head, before looking at Asch. "Should I do it, or you?"

"I'll do it. I'll probably end up staying behind anyway. You're better with heat than I am."

"Right."

Asch headed up to the front of the boat, raising his hands. A gold glow appeared around him, flickering brightly. He turned his hands, and the glow strengthened.

"Oi, this way, old man! You're going the wrong way!" Asch called, easily being heard through the video feed.

"Of course, of course," Jade said, turning the boat suddenly. Asch nearly lost his footing, and gave the camera a withering glare before lifting his hands again.

They followed Asch's directions, and within about an hour they had reached the desert. Jade banked the boat as Luke headed up to Asch. The older allowed the gold glow to fade and fell to his knees, panting.

"Are you okay?" asked Luke.

"I'll be fine. Go find Dad," Asch ordered.

* * *

After stocking up on plenty of supplies and getting better cover, they headed out into the desert. The heat hit them hard, and Arietta soon began lagging behind.

Finally the others came to a halt, looking back at her in concern.

"Sync, maybe you should take Arietta back to the Tartarus," Luke suggested.

Sync bit his lip, noting wanting to leave his friends alone in the huge desert, but knowing that Arietta wouldn't last long enough to remain a help - basically, she would soon become a hindrance.

"Alright. But take some of our supplies with you, we can get back on minimal supplies," he said, passing over a few canisters and some food.

Luke accepted them hesitantly. "Are you sure you guys will be okay getting back to the Tartarus?" he asked.

Sync glanced down at Arietta. "Will any of your friends be able to lead us?" he asked. She nodded slowly, panting, and Sync looked up. "We'll be fine," he reassured.

"...If you're sure," Luke replied.

Tear knelt next to Arietta, raising a hand. "This is only temporary, but it'll help for the short term, alright?" the tan-haired girl murmured, before singing.

_"Ryou Rei Kuroa Ryou Zue Rei Va Zue Rei."_

Arietta sighed in relief as the hymn flooded her body with energy, and stood up. "Thank you," she murmured.

Tear smiled then watched as Sync and Arietta started back the way they had come. Finally she turned back to Luke, motioning before continuing on in the opposite direction.

Tear eventually noticed the slight gold hue around Luke, and frowned. "Isn't that what Asch used on the Tartarus?" she asked.

Luke nodded. "Kinda. He had to focus a little more for that, because it's harder to search for fonons when you're on water or separated by it. I'm taking less strain because there's only barren life separating us."

"But you'll still end up tiring yourself out, won't you?" Tear asked.

Luke gave her a vague smile. "Obviously. But we have very little choice in the matter."

Tear bit her lip. "Well, if you get tired, please don't push yourself too hard. Collapsing won't help anyone," she pointed out.

"I know. I'm going to be careful. Besides, if I do get to a point where I'm extremely tired but need to use fonons, Asch can take second fonons from the earth and transfer the energy to me."

"Why didn't Asch come along in the first place then?"

"It's nearly impossible to take in a specific type of fonon while focusing on another type of fonon. If Asch tried to absorb Earth Fonons while focusing on Dad's Sound Fonons, he could end up draining Dad instead by accident."

"That sounds awkward...I guess being as powerful as you are doesn't make you invincible in the end."

Luke chuckled. "Nope. We have our weaknesses too. In fact, being made solely - or mostly - of a single type of fonon is extremely awkward. Something like what Van used against us, for example; the mind control worked by taking hold of our Seventh Fonons. That's why it was so more effective against us. We are mostly Seventh Fonons, with very little to combat or disrupt that connection. Most of the other students, however, had other fonons or no Seventh Fonons, so they weren't affected in the same way." He went red, scratching his cheek. "Or at least, that's what Yulia said. She also said the reason I broke out of it so easily was because not only did I take the most extra fonons from Mum, but because I was put under it before but fought it and managed to get rid of it with my own will, it had less of a hold over me."

"You mean that time when you saw her after class?" asked Tear, surprised.

"Right. Plus, now that I think about it, you used a couple of Fonic Hymns on me after that; they probably managed to properly force the control from me the first time, so it was easier to for us both to fight it off the second time. Otherwise, the control probably would have been the strongest in me."

"And if that had happened, you and Asch may have ended up killing each other...You wouldn't have been able to let me help you," Tear murmured, frowning.

Luke grinned at her. "Well, it's all in the past now anyway! We've just got to find Dad and get him back home, and everything can go back to normal."

Tear made a face. "Don't say stuff like that. It's just when you saw something like that that everything goes wrong."

Luke laughed, then carried on walking, glancing around. Tear rolled her eyes and followed him, though she was now honestly worried.

* * *

**A/N: Deary me. Look at all this foreshadowing.**

**So, I'm not entirely sure how to write Jade...therefore, I apologise if he's a little OOC. Plus, banter isn't my strong point; thus, Asch and Jade's little friendly argument may have been a bit rubbish.**

**Review?**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Happy Hallow's Eve! Mine was rubbish...but I hope everyone else's was good! And now, our two favourite characters return!**

* * *

They had been walking for nearly an entire day, and Tear was starting to grow tired. She had no idea how Luke was still going, especially considering he'd been keeping up the fonon searching thing the entire time.

"Luke, don't you think we should rest?" she called.

Luke glanced back at her, hesitating. "We're really close though.." he murmured.

Tear bit her lip, then sighed. "We'll carry on for another hour, but if we don't find him before then, we're resting," she said finally.

Luke nodded, and they carried on walking.

About half an hour later, Tear was regretting her decision. She was growing increasingly tired and stumbling over non-existant rocks now.

Suddenly her foot connected with something and she gave a yelp as she fell, crashing into the sand.

"Tear! Are you alright?" Luke asked, hurrying back towards her.

Tear groaned, rubbing her leg and looking for whatever had tripped her, before staring.

"Uhh...Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"I think we found Lorelei."

Luke glanced back, and seemed torn between laughing and sweat-dropping. Finally he settled for a sweat-drop with a light chuckle.

"He would end up being found like this, wouldn't he?" he murmured and crawling over to him. He pulled one of his containers from his pack and gently lifted Lorelei's head up, giving him some of the water. Lorelei swallowed it on reflex, coughing slightly.

"It's okay, take it slowly," Luke murmured, giving him a slight more.

Finally he pulled back, putting his container back in his pack. He sat beside Lorelei, looking at Tear. "We'll rest here tonight, okay?" he said.

"The entire night? Are you sure?" asked Tear.

"Definitely," Luke replied, before closing his eyes. The gold glow increased in strength for a moment. _"Asch, I need you to feed me fonons while I'm sleeping. Is that okay?"_

_"Luke? What's with you, you sound exhausted."_

_"I am. Please, can you?"_

_"Sure. I'll try as long as I can."_

_"Thanks," _Luke said in relief, before cutting the connection. He glanced over at Tear. "Okay, don't freak out," he said.

"Freak out? Why would I..?"

"Just don't. I'm perfectly fine," Luke reassured before finally quelling the gold glow. Almost instantly his eyes rolled back and he collapsed, out in a second.

Tear stiffened, instinctively reaching for him and checking him over, then realised he must have kept going when he shouldn't have. She sighed in irritation.

"Honestly Luke...after I told you not to push yourself, as well..."

She quickly had a drink from her own container before curling up beside Luke, deciding she may as well get some shut eye while she could.

* * *

_Terror. It seeped through her so suddenly, and her eyes flashed open. She looked around, heart rate speeding as she saw herself surrounded by fire._

_Screams could be heard, and she searched for their source before going white. Various students and teachers were burning in the flames, and above them stood Van, laughing._

_"Brother! What are you doing!?" she shouted._

_"Ridding this world of the evil it has been consumed by! I shall not allow tainted beings to control our world!"_

_She felt someone grip her hand and turned, looking in surprise as Luke grasped her hand._

_"Tear..Tear, Dad is.."_

_"What?"_

_"I don't know...Van's taken Dad. I don't know how, he just has!"_

_Tear reached for her spear to attack Van, then froze as she realised it wasn't there._

_"How are we meant to fight? We don't have weapons!" she cried._

_"Oi! What's going on?" demanded a voice, and she looked further back to see Asch gripping Luke's hand._

_"Van's taken Dad!"_

_"Can't you contact him at all?"_

_"No! He's completely cut off!"_

_They heard Van laugh and looked back. He smiled cruelly at them, motioning to the twins._

_"I'll take you next," he murmured, before everything vanished, being replaced by darkness._

_"Luke?! Luke!" she shouted, looking around._

_"I'm here! Tear, don't move, I'm going to create a hyperresonance. Asch, let me lock on to your fonons."_

_"Already done. Get back here in one piece, brother, or I won't forgive you," Asch said._

* * *

Her eyes flashed open a second time as her body hit wood. She looked around, confused to see herself on the deck of the Tartarus.

"Tear? How did you.." Sync asked, confused.

"There's no time to explain. Jade, we have to get back to the Academy!" she called.

_"There's no time. All of you, hang on," _Luke and Asch said, their voices echoing in their minds, before they both glowed gold.

"You can't move something this large," Jade said, frowning.

_"Try us," _Asch snapped, before the gold grew brighter. Instantly they were all engulfed, rushing through the sky, before arriving at the dock at the school.

Tear turned before going white. The entire school was in blazes, the smoke and flames rising high. She leapt out of the boat and ran for the entrance, sighing in relief as she caught sight of the students and teachers standing outside.

"Mum!" she called, spotting Yulia.

"Oh, Tear, there you are..." Yulia sighed in relief, hugging her tightly.

"Mum, what happened?" she asked.

Yulia frowned. "I'm not sure. Van suddenly appeared, and then the school burst on fire. We only just managed to all get out."

"I had a dream...I think Van's managed to 'take' Lorelei somehow. He's using that strength to burn the school."

Yulia turned to her, face serious. "Did he say anything else in this dream?"

"Only that he was going to take Luke and Asch as well."

"I see...That dream may have been you accidentally locking onto Asch, Luke and Lorelei's fonons. They would naturally sense the disturbance."

"We have to stop him! If he gets enough power, he might try and burn the entire world!" Tear said urgently, a thousand possibilities running through her head.

"Our first priority is getting everyone to a safe place. Luckily, our dorm masters are _very _special. They'll be able to get enough transportation. Text all the other groups not to return and just hole up wherever they are."

Tear nodded, pulling out her phone and quickly sending a text as Yulia organised everyone else. Due to Arietta's ability to communicate with monsters, she also managed to get several griffins and ligers to transport some of the weaker students to safer areas immediately while the others waited for transportation.

Luke and Asch hurried over, joining the two girls.

"What's the plan?" asked Luke, reaching for his sword.

"You two will be transported to two separate areas," Yulia replied.

The two boys blinkd, before Asch scowled. "What are you talking about?! We need to get Van! He has our Dad's freaking _mind_!"

"I'm well aware of the situation. However, he is also after you two, so it is better at this time to send you to places you will be safe. When the time is right, and we have confirmed Van's position, we will bring you back out _if it is safe_."

"But-"

"No buts. Ginji and Noelle will take you. I'll get Jade to take care of your father. Now go," Yulia ordered.

The two boys hesitated, then finally relented. Natalia hurried over to Asch's side, boarding the Albiore that Ginji piloted. Luke glanced over at Tear, emerald eyes meeting blue, and sighed.

"Hopefully this won't take too long," he murmured.

Tear smiled. "I hope so too. But don't worry, we'll definitely help Lorelei."

Luke nodded. "Be careful," he said seriously.

"_You're _telling _me_ to be careful? After how you collapsed last night?" Tear teased.

Luke rolled his eyes. "Okay, maybe I wasn't really thinking. But I'm serious, Tear."

"I know. I'll be careful, I promise," she murmured.

Luke nodded, bending down and kissing her. She returned it before he finally headed over to Noelle's Albiore, soon heading off.

Tear sighed, then jumped as Yulia placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I know how difficult it can be to be separated from a loved one for any amount of time, Tear. I can't say how long this will take, though," Yulia murmured apologetically.

"No. As long as it's keeping Luke and Asch safe, I don't mind how long we're apart," Tear replied quietly.

Yulia smiled, then watched the two airships flying off. "Well, at Keterburg and Grand Chokmah, they should both be quite safe. We just need to work on finding Van."

"Where is Jade going to take Lorelei?" Tear asked.

"Yulia City. He'll be well cared for there."

Tear nodded as slowly the enormity of the whole situation dawned on her. The entire school was splitting, Lorelei's power was in the destructive hands of her brother, and Luke and Asch were his next targets.

This was going to be a long fight.

* * *

**A/N: Oooohoooo. Van's back. *smirk***

**So, although this is AU setting, it turned out a lot like the game...y'know, fight Van twice, have Van resurrected because of Lorelei, and all the other good stuff.**

**I don't really know though. I'm writing this probably two months before I actually post it. Hooray for future text posts!**

**Review?**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: We're nearly done, actually. Maybe...three or four chapters left? Well, I dunno.**

* * *

It had been a couple of weeks since the school had been attacked. Yulia and Tear had been going around together, searching for where Van was holed up, but so far they'd had no luck. They'd also got the rest of the school keeping an eye out for him, but no one had reported anything back yet.

A couple of days after the incident, they'd gone to Baticul to check if the supporters of Van who were being transported had arrived, but the knights regretfully reported that the ship transporting them had been sunk. The prisoner's bodies were nowhere to be found, so it was safe to assume that they were now roaming free.

The entire experiance was getting at Tear's nerves. Every time they stepped out, she had a near panic attack, expecting an enemy to leap at them. So far that hadn't happened, but it was enough to set her nerves on edge.

It was during the third week that Tear got a call from Natalia. She pulled the phone out, lifting it.

"Hello?" she asked.

_"Tear! Asch has vanished!"_

"What?!"

_"He disappeared! He went to bed last night and he seemed fine, but when I went into his room to check on him this morning, he wasn't there. His bed was made, so I don't think he even slept in it, but there's no way to tell if he was taken or if he left by himself.."_

"No one saw him leave?"

_"No...I'm really worried. We can't even pick up a trail. Peony's going nuts, ordering the guards around, but there isn't much anyone can do."_

"Right. I'll head over to Keterberg and see if Luke is there. If he isn't we'll start searching."

_"What should we do?"_

Tear considered. "This is obviously going to get serious pretty quickly. Get everyone you can from the school organised. Try and get in contact with everyone and tell them we can't hole up anymore. We need to head to Chesedonia to organise ourselves for our next move."

_"Alright...I hope we find him soon."_

"So do I. Don't worry, Natalia, we'll definitely get him back."

The call ended and she quickly rang Ginji.

_"Hello?"_

"Ginji, it's me, Tear. I'm at Nam Cobanda Isle, would you be able to pick me up and take me to Keterberg?"

_"Sure. What's happened?"_

"Asch has gone missing. I need to check up on Luke."

_"I'll be there soon," _Ginji promised before ending the call.

Tear looked up as Yulia entered the room. "We'll head off soon.." she decided, before noticing Tear's set expression. "What's happened?" she asked.

"Asch is missing, and no one knows where he is. I'm going to go to Keterberg and check on Luke, and everyone is going to meet up at Chesedonia."

Yulia blinked. "Oh...how are you getting to Keterberg?"

"Ginji is coming to pick me up."

"You certainly are organised...alright. I'll look around for Asch, then meet you all in Chesedonia when I can."

"Right. Thanks Mum," Tear said, hugging her before hurriedly packing a few things together and heading outside. Ginji soon arrived and they headed to Keterburg.

* * *

It only took a few hours, and finally the Abliore touched down in Keterberg. Tear shivered as she walked down the steps, looking up at Ginji with a grateful smile.

"Thanks for coming out so quickly, Ginji," she said.

"No problems. I'll start transporting everyone else to Chesedonia."

"That'll be great, thanks," Tear said in relief.

"Stay safe," Ginji said before taking off.

Tear watched him go before heading towards the large house Luke was staying at. Apparently Nephry was actually Jade's sister, and lived in Keterberg. She had agreed to house Luke - which he hadn't been overly happy about - but from what she could tell from his texts, the two of them had actually been getting along fine.

She'd tried texting him on the Albiore, but he hadn't replied, which only sparked her worry further. She increased her pace slightly, and soon reached Nephry's house.

Knocking on the door, she waited a moment before the door was opened by Nephry. She looked surprised to see Tear.

"Tear? What are you doing here?"

"I, um I was looking for Luke..."

"Well, come in then...I'll tell him that you're here."

Tear let out a slow breath as Nephry confirmed that he was indeed here. She stepped inside, waiting, until the other door opened and Luke stepped out, closing it behind him.

"Hey Tear," he greeted, walking over to her with a smile. He kissed her and she returned the gesture before pulling back.

"Luke, we have a problem," she said.

"Huh?"

"Asch has gone missing. No one's seen him, and Natalia's sick with worry."

Luke frowned. "That's not good...Hang on, I'll see if I can find him."

He closed his eyes, concentrating, and a gold hue appeared around his body. After a moment he frowned before allowing the glow to fade and rubbing his arm.

"...I can't sense him. I can't sense Van, either."

Tear bit her lip. That wasn't good news...Luke said that he and Asch emitted a constant stream of fonons, so if he couldn't even sense those, Asch was either hiding them or having them forcefully supressed.

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it right now. I'll stay with you tonight, then look for him tomorrow," she decided.

"Can I come with you? I'm honestly worried..."

"I don't know..We're all meeting up in Chesedonia though, so I'll talk to Mum about it tomorrow."

Luke nodded. "Right. Thanks."

Tear smiled. "So, let's see this famous 'huge massive enormous room'," she said. Luke grinned, leading her upstairs.

* * *

Tear was sleeping soundly on a spare matress Nephry had gotten put in Luke's room, when a rustling sound caught her attention. She was instantly awake, carefully turning over to see who it was.

She blinked as she caught sight of Luke standing up, easily dressing and heading for the door.

"Luke," she called as she got up, following after him.

He didn't respond and she frowned. She doubted he was sleep-walking...but why wasn't he talking to her then?

"Luke!" she whispered again, but he still ignored her. The two of them headed downstairs and out of the door, Tear carefully closing it behind her. She hurried to keep up with Luke, who seemed to be on a one-track mission.

He headed to an empty area and raised his hand, a gold glow appearing around him. Tear reached out and grabbed his jacket, linking her fonons with his, just as he caused the hyperresonance and transported them both.

* * *

**A/N: Dun dun dunnn! What's going to happen? Why is Luke suddenly walking like a zombie? Where's Asch!?**

**All this and more shall be revealed next chapter :3**

**Review?**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Mmmm..I say two more chapters (including this one) and then we're done. And we'll possibly have a couple of one-shots for this written at some point too :D**

* * *

She stumbled as they hit the ground and glanced around, quickly releasing his jacket. He seemed unfazed and easily walked forward, Tear following closely behind.

They entered Tataroo Valley, heading to the area where the selenias bloom. As they approached it, Tear held back in the forest, gazing at Luke hesitantly.

As he came to a halt, she heard the sound of footsteps and turned slightly. Asch walked out, joining Luke, though neither showed any recognition towards the other.

Then she stared as a city floated down, coming to a halt at the end of the valley. Pulling out her phone, she quickly texted everyone she could as she watched Van walk down from the city.

"Luke, Asch, it is good to see you again," he murmured.

Neither boy responded, and he chuckled.

"Of course, how silly of me; you can't even hear me, can you?" He pressed a hand against his chest, shaking his head. "I never knew Lorelei's power was so useful...to even have the ability to mindwash you two..I should have stolen his power from the very beginning."

Tear stared. So that was why they weren't responding? Because he'd basically made them mindless?

Van sighed, then raised his hand. "I think it's time I took you into myself, however. Don't worry; you'll have company," he murmured, his hand glowing gold.

The two boys winced, hands gripping their heads as a gold glow appeared around them as well. Tear bit her lip, wondering if leaping out was really the smartest move, then decided she wasn't really willing to watch them be absorbed infront of her.

Silently she grabbed her spear, sneaking out of the forest and keeping to the edge as she slunk towards Van.

Just as he reached out to touch Luke's forehead, she leapt out, spear poised. Van blinked as he caught sight of her, then drew back, avoiding her attack.

Tear turned, raising her spear, and faced him. He gazed at her emotionlessly.

"So, sister, you are here as well. Tell me, why do you continue to fight against me? You, of all people, are someone I would happily allow to fight for me."

"I don't know what you're planning, Van, but I won't allow you to hurt them," Tear said, expression set.

"My plan is simple, Mystearica. I will create a world free of fear, pain or sadness. Free of hatred and regret and loneliness."

"And how will killing them accomplish that?" Tear demanded.

"They are in the way. They do not wish for the world that I do, would prefer to have this flawed world remain. To that end, they must be destroyed." Van smiled. "And what of you, sister? Will you join me? Help me?"

Tear scowled. "I would never join you, Vandescelsca. You've gone mad from the power you possess."

Van sighed. "I don't know what changed in you, Mystearica. Our parents abandoned us, and that was enough to fuel you for your revenge. Do you not care anymore?"

Tear blinked. Didn't...didn't Van know?

"Van...our parents didn't abandon us," she said slowly.

"Yes they did. They went and left us, and didn't bother to try and return to us!"

Tear shook her head. "Our mother works for Lorelei."

Van blinked. "What?"

"You should know her, as well. She was very hesitant in approaching me, so I suppose it's no surprise she was even more so about you, but...I honestly thought you knew."

"What are you saying, Mystearica? Who is it?!" he snapped.

Tear hesitated. "Yulia," she replied eventually.

Van frowned as he took this in, trying to remember who Yulia was, then suddenly he realised.

"Our mother...She was Lorelei's personal _secretary_?"

Tear nodded. "I've been talking with her for a few months...She cares deeply for both of us. It really hurts her every time you end up being an enemy of us. So please, Van, won't you stop? You have people who will care for you. Whatever you're going through, you don't need to go through it alone."

Van scowled. "No. She has shown even greater abandonment by not even telling me she was our mother. Therefore, that only proves she is another enemy I must be rid of."

Tear sighed. She thought it might come to this, but... "I won't let you hurt her."

"So you'll stand against me, Mystearica?"

"Yes. Always."

"...Very well. Then I shall be rid of you as well."

With that he shot forward, drawing his sword.

Tear blocked his attack, taking a step back. He was ridiculously strong, she could already tell. There was no way she could beat him...unless...

Taking a breath, she closed her eyes. Van took his chance and shot towards her, sword poised.

_"Toue Rei Zue Kuroa Ryou Toue Zue."_

The hymn hit him and immediately he slumped, eyes closing. His sword dropped inches from Tear and she let out a breath, feeling her heart beating ridiculously fast.

She turned to face the two boys, hoping that maybe they had snapped out of it, but they were still as emotionless as before. Sighing, she resigned herself to waiting until the others got here, which would take a little while.

She felt her phone vibrate and pulled it out, seeing it was Natalia calling her. She raised it to her ear.

"Hello?"

_"Tear! What's happened? Everyone was really surprised when you asked us all to come up to Tataroo Valley."_

"Van controlled Luke and Asch using Lorelei's power. They just hyperresonance'd their way here. I've managed to subdue him for the moment, but I don't know when it'll wear off...How far away are you guys?"

_"We're all on Arietta's ligers, so it shouldn't take us too long..Another half hour, I guess."_

"Right. Well, please hurry."

_"We will. How are Asch and Luke?"_

"Out of it. They're still not responding to me, even though Van is unconcious. It's a little weird, seeing as his hold over them should have stopped as soon as he was out of it."

_"Are you sure he's unconcious?"_

"I...no, actually, I don't," Tear replied, frowning.

_"I'd check, if I were you."_

"Yeah...that's a good-"

A searing pain at her side shot through her and she cried out, dropping her phone and falling to the ground. She looked up, meeting Van's gaze.

"You're still too naive, Mystearica," he said as he raised his sword.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry, sorry! I didn't want to stop there, but it works better this way...**

**And yes, cliché, I know. Tear could never be that stupid. But whatever.**

**Review?**


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